Every word that begins with a vowel or a dipthong must have a breathing mark, rough or smooth.
- The rough breathing mark over an initial vowel or dipthong indicates that the word begins with an “h” sound. An initial rho or upsilon (ρ, υ) will have a rough breathing mark (υἱός, ῥῆμα).
- The smooth breathing mark indicates that there is no “h” sound and pronunciation is not affected.
ὑ pronounced “who” ἐ normal pronunciation.